Now, it seems Canada will get a piece of the 3D printing pie, as additive manufacturing equipment company Arcam AB has just announced that its powder manufacturing subsidiary Advanced Powders & Coatings (AP&C) will be investing in a second factory in the Greater Montreal area. The announcement was made at the Farnborough International Airshow in Hampshire, England.

Quebec based AP&C, which was acquired by its Swedish parent company Arcam AB in 2014 for $35 million, will reportedly be investing $31 million in the new facility which will be dedicated to making advanced metal powders used for additive manufacturing within the aerospace and biomedical industries. The financing for the new facility, which will be located in Boisbriand just outside of Montreal, was arranged in collaboration with Montréal International and Investissement Québec (IQ) who are offering the project up to $10 million in interest free loans and $1.5 million in grants.

Magnus René, CEO of Arcam, says of the investment, “The support from Investissement Québec and Montreal International is important for our ability to expand quickly to address the increased demand for high end titanium powder. Arcam is determined to serve the fast growing Additive Manufacturing industry through cost efficient solutions thus converting traditional manufacturing into Additive Manufacturing. A requisite is to offer highest quality metal powder for production at competitive cost.”

Currently, AP&C employs nearly 85 workers at its existing Boisbriand factory and is expected to hire about 106 more over the next three years for its new, more automated facility, effectively increasing its Quebec workforce by more than double. Additionally, AP&C’s second facility will allow the company, Arcam’s main supplier of titanium powders, to expand its production to meet growing demands, especially within the aerospace industry.

“Montréal International, Greater Montréal’s economic development agency, provided strategic support that has been key in making our expansion project possible,” explains Alain Dupont, President of AP&C. “With this investment we can provide our existing and future clients with superior quality materials to meet the high manufacturing standards of the aerospace and biomedical industries. The new powder production facility and advances in atomization facility and advances in atomization technology will significantly increase our production capacity in 2017 and beyond.”